Strengths, flaws found in Orleans school finances

A New Orleans-based government watchdog group says the school system in New Orleans has significantly improved its financial operations in the years since Hurricane Katrina shut down the city's public education system for months.

But the Bureau of Governmental Research report issued Thursday also found flaws in some of the Orleans Parish School System's practices.

Although the state took over most New Orleans public schools after Katrina, the Orleans board still runs six and oversees 12 others run by independent charter groups. And the board controls key financial functions for all New Orleans public schools.

Thursday's report said the once-troubled Orleans board receives clean audits and solid bond ratings these days. But it found fault with some practices and said the board lacks transparency in its allocation of resources.

A Justice Department civil rights investigation has concluded that the Ferguson Police Department and the city's municipal court engaged in a "pattern and practice" of discrimination against African-Americans, targeting them disproportionately for tr...